The Silver Ribbon
by UniqueElla
Summary: AU. It's Dawn's last day in high-school. She's accepted in the Prestige University of Hearthome and has no worries about the future, but there's something she needs to do before turning a new page in her life. She makes the brave decision to confess to her long-time crush - Paul Shinji, the most popular guy at school, and plans out the most hilarious scheme to do it. Ikarishipping!


**_Hello there! Here's a one-shot I just wrote. I hope you like it!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon._**

* * *

Dawn sighed as she finished emptying her locker. She had one more day till graduation and she had to admit she'd miss being in high-school. But she was happy and, seriously, why wouldn't she be? She was accepted in the Prestige University of Hearthome, along with her best friends and had an exciting summer full of trips and adventures ahead of her.

There was only one thing she regretted. And that was not having confessed her feelings to Paul Shinji, the most popular boy in the school, whom she had had a crush on for a long time.

Dawn's gaze became dreamy at the thought of the purple-haired teenager as she made her way down the halls.

Paul Shinji… The silent, but smart guy, the strong trainer, the most accomplished sportsman of the school… Dawn sighed and shook her head, knowing that even if she had made the risky move to tell him about her feelings, it wouldn't have taken her anywhere. She was a nobody throughout high-school and she doubted he even knew she existed. Well, there had been this really heated argument between the two in tenth grade (Paul had called her Troublesome and she had lunged herself at him, angry that he didn't even bother to memorize her name), but nothing more of a communication since then and the girl suspected he didn't even remember her.

Still, it was her last day at high school and she would probably never see him again. She wanted to start her year at university fresh, with no regrets of what could have been if she hadn't been a coward. It was her last day and she wanted to take the chance while she still could.

Feeling foolish courage rise up in her chest, the bluenette made a bold decision and stopped walking abruptly, in the middle of the empty hall. If she was going to do it, she had to do it right, which required some thought and preparation. The clock was ticking and her time would soon be up, so she didn't waste another minute.

She dumped all of the stuff that had previously been in her locker in the nearest trash can and walked off, plotting on how to confess to Paul Shinji.

* * *

Dawn entered the huge gym, where the seniors had gotten a permission to make a party for the end of the school year, and looked around for her best friends. She smoothed down her dress, whose colour matched her midnight blue tresses, and tugged at the distinctive silver ribbon in her hair nervously as she approached May, Leaf and Misty.

"Hey guys!" The bluenette greeted and took the plastic cup May handed her. She scanned the crowd eagerly, her gaze searching familiar purple hair, but finding nothing.

"So, is everyone from our year here tonight?" She asked innocently, not wanting to pinpoint the particular person she was looking for.

"I thought you didn't give a damn about anyone else apart from your fabulous girlfriends." Misty smirked as she took a sip from her cup. "But yeah, I think all seniors are here. It's our party after all. Although I'm only here for the drinks." She winked deviously at the three girls as she took another sip.

Dawn rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. Her red-headed friend was right though – she couldn't care less about the rest of her soon-to-be-ex-classmates, but she subtly wanted to find out if the one boy, towards whom she wasn't completely indifferent, was there tonight.

Even though she hadn't really had a normal conversation with him, she could tell he wasn't exactly a party person. Therefore she wasn't surprised when she couldn't see him in the crowd of dancing teenagers, but she felt disappointment nevertheless. A nudge in her ribs pulled her out of the la-la land and she turned to see Leaf smiling knowingly at her.

The brunette leaned close to Dawn's ear and whispered discreetly "He's outside, near the soccer field."

The bluenette gave her green-eyed friend a look of astonishment. Leaf was usually quiet and shy, but when it came to other people's feelings, she was pretty intuitive. Letting a small smile slide on her face, Dawn nodded slightly as a thank you and headed towards the exit.

She went out and breathed in the fresh night air before quietly walking off towards the soccer field. As she approached it she made out the outlines of a familiar figure and her heart rate sped up.

She couldn't have imagined a better set-up to play out her little plan – Paul was alone and there was no one else at sight. The girl's hands trembled as she got a pokéball out of her silver purse. She called out her Pokémon as quietly as possible, flashing nervous glances at the boy (who was standing with his back towards her a good 200 meters away).

"Pachirisu, I want you to use Discharge on that boy over there, but don't make it too strong. Just enough to paralyze him for a bit, think you can do that?"

The small squirrel-like Pokémon nodded its head at its trainer and then turned towards the target it was given. Dawn's stomach turned over as she prayed that her plan would work. Pachirisu chirped its name as quietly as possible as it released a small blue bolt and directed it towards Paul.

Paul seemed to have heard something, because he made a movement to turn back, but didn't manage to do so, because the unexpected attack hit him first. It worked as Dawn had hoped it would and the boy was left paralyzed, only able to move his eyes and lips.

"What the…" He murmured as he struggled to turn around and face his attacker, but to no avail. "Who's there?" He yelled threateningly as he sensed someone approaching him from the back.

Dawn quickly came right behind him and placed a blindfold on his eyes, tying it at the back of his head swiftly.

"What the hell is happening?" Paul growled as he could no longer see anything, feeling like an easy prey. "Who are you?" He spat dangerously.

"No need to feel alarmed, I'm not going to do anything to harm you." Dawn spoke in a whisper as she came in front of the boy.

"Who are you?" Paul demanded again in a firm tone, but not as harsh after he found out that his attacker was a female.

"Not telling." Dawn said softly, no longer that nervous since her plan was going the way she wanted.

"Why have you paralyzed me? What do you want?" Paul asked, demanding to know why he was being put in such a situation.

"I'm sorry for choosing this way to do it, but I couldn't let you see who I am. It would be too embarrassing for me afterwards."

"What is it that you would be so embarrassed to do face to face?" Paul asked, getting more suspicious and alarmed.

"Don't worry, I'm just here to… talk. I have some things I want to say to you before the school year is over, because I might not get another chance to do so." Dawn said, getting more comfortable in the first real conversation between them.

"If you're so sure you won't see me again, then why don't you let me see your face?" Even though Paul couldn't move a muscle, Dawn could detect the smirk in his voice.

"Just a precaution." The bluenette giggled slightly, as the boy rolled his eyes behind the blindfold.

"A smart set-up, I admit. What is so important that requires such drastic measures?"

Paul heard the mysterious girl take a deep breath and saw (figuratively speaking) the long-awaited explanation coming.

"You see… I, err… I-I like you… a lot. I've liked you for a long time now and I'm afraid it might be more than a little crush, I d-don't know…" Dawn stuttered as she dragged the words out of her mouth. Darn, she should have prepared what to say apart from plotting the perfect plan of ambushing the boy. She breathed in and out again and blurted the next words as quickly as possible. "I just wanted to let it out before it was too late, to let you know, to lift the burden off my shoulders."

"But what good does it do me if I don't even know who you are?"

Dawn chuckled. "This is for my benefit, not yours." Paul could feel the slight, barely detectable smugness in her voice. "Sorry." She added as she felt a bit guilty because of the state she had put him in.

The boy didn't respond, wondering where that curious conversation was heading. Surprisingly, he wasn't that irritated by the situation he was forced into, he just waited either for the dialogue to continue or for the mysterious girl to let him out of his imprisoned paralyzed state. He realized that she might not have a way of freeing him and it might be just a matter of time before the effect of the attack wore off, so he could only wait.

Paul picked the conversation up again, deciding there wasn't much else to do, plus getting the mysterious girl to talk more might help him figure out who she was. "You know, I will find out who you are sooner or later."

"I doubt it. School's ending tomorrow and I don't see how you'd figure it out by then and after that it just won't matter anymore. Actually, I don't see why it would matter now, because it wouldn't change anything."

Paul wanted to argue, but couldn't see it getting him anywhere, so he just settled for asking "Why not?"

Dawn just laughed sadly and shook her head. "You probably don't even know I exist, I'm a nobody."

"A nobody who ambushed me and put me in the most humiliating position in an extremely clever way. I'm sure it'll turn out that I know you and when I find out who you are, you'll see I'm right."

Paul suddenly felt a delicate small hand cup his cheek and froze at the unexpected contact.

"I doubt you've ever even noticed me, Paul. But it doesn't matter. I've already done what I needed to, that's enough satisfaction for me." Dawn caressed his cheek, sending electric jolts down his spine and leaned in closer, studying his face, as if wanting to memorize every small detail.

Wondering what would happen if she kissed him, she decided to take a chance for the second time that day and softly pressed her lips to his. It took him by surprise for a moment, but as soon as he recovered, he gladly responded.

Paul inhaled the mysterious girl's strawberry and vanilla-like scent, collecting every little detail he could about her. Her lips were soft and fitted perfectly with his, making him lose himself into her sweet aroma, into her whole being.

The kiss broke and the two were both left dazed and wanting more. Dawn was tempted to kiss him again but noticed a twitching in his hand, which meant that the effect of Pachirisu's attack was already starting to wear off. Paul sensed her pulling away and tried to make his muscles move to stop her from going.

When that didn't work, he tried making her stay with words. "Don't go!" But she was already a few meters away. "Tell me who you are!"

He sensed her coming closer again and she quickly placed a kiss on his cheek, which started burning upon her touch. "Goodbye, Paul." With that she pulled away and started walking back to the school facility.

Paul tried moving to grab her again and this time he managed to lift his arm slightly. But by the time he was completely able to move again, the mysterious girl had already left. He removed the blindfold eagerly and looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of her in the dark, but she was gone.

Dawn ran frantically, only stopping to catch her breath and straighten up at the entrance of the gym. She went in and headed for the farthest spot possible, where she was well hidden by a group of chattering seniors. Being near to the refreshments table, she poured herself a drink, just as a panting Paul flew in the gym with a flushed face from the running.

He stopped and looked around with furrowed brows, earning weird glances from his classmates. But one look sent his way wasn't confused, surprised or wondering why he looked so messed up, it was lingering and discreet, but he still managed to catch it across the full room. His eyes held Dawn's for a few long moments, which felt like eternity to the girl, before they left her and swept over the whole salon.

After scanning the room for one last time, the purple-haired boy turned around and left without a second glance back, clutching a small fabric tightly in his hand.

* * *

Dawn woke up, feeling unexplainably happy and light. She got out of bed and went through her morning routine, while humming to herself joyfully, not at all nervous about the big event of the day – her graduation.

Quite the opposite, actually, she was carefree and felt as though nothing in the world could take her down. She gave it to the gigantic leap she had taken the previous night – confessing her feelings to Paul, a thing she was still amazed she had managed to pull off. And it had gone so smooth! He didn't even know it had been her, it was just so perfect!

Maybe a little bit _too _perfect.

Getting ready for the ceremony was something Dawn didn't give much time or effort to – she really couldn't care less about her appearance, but made sure she at least looked decent.

In the future this supposedly 'big' moment, this milestone in her life, was to be nothing more than a fancy-framed photo gracing the shelf above the fireplace. She wouldn't miss any of her previous classmates, except her three best friends, together with whom she was going to go to university, so she had no sad and nostalgic feelings poisoning this day, which to her was just like any other. Well, she was graduating and it was sure going to feel odd not being a high-school student anymore, but she decided not to give it much thought. After all, life only moved forwards and you can't stay caught up in memories of the old times, because there was just no way of going back to the past.

Dawn arrived at school, already dressed in her academic dress and hat, underneath which she was wearing plain skinny jeans and a tank top – seriously, what was the point of dressing up if the formal robes were covering it all up?

She found her friends in the courtyard, where a small stage had been put together with a lot of lined-up chairs for the graduating seniors and their proud, photo-taking and sobbing parents (amongst whom was, of course, Dawn's own mother, who had arrived an hour earlier than her daughter – it wasn't that hard to guess which one of the two was more excited about the whole thing).

"Hey, guys!" Dawn greeted and went in for a group hug with May, Misty and Leaf. She was truly grateful to have them as her best friends, thanks to whom she had managed to get through the cruel vicious place, also known as high-school.

"So, today's the big day, huh…" May laughed nervously as she tugged on her midnight blue robes, which were identical to the attire all the seniors were wearing.

"Chill, May, it's just like any other day. We'll sit through the boring ceremony, go up there to take our diploma, flash a smile or two for the hyper paparazzi parents, throw our 'academic caps' in the air in joy and ecstasy and then just go home, or maybe grab a slice of pizza on the way." Misty summarized simply and grinned as her friends giggled.

As the ceremony began, they all took their respective seats and listened to the principal's inspiring speech, as he talked on and on about the end of an exciting stage of their lives and the beginning of an even more exciting one. After giving out the diplomas, he just finished it all off with a simple "Farewell and good luck to you all!"

Everyone started moving, chatting excitedly about future plans and promising to stay in touch, while Dawn just stretched her arms above her head and said to her friends "How about we get to that slice of pizza now?"

They all laughed but shook their heads as they pointed to someone behind Dawn. She turned around and rolled her eyes as she saw her mom grinning from ear to ear and clutching a camera with a hopeful expression on her face. The bluenette groaned, but lined up next to her three best friends, wrapping her arms around them with a big smile.

"Perfect!" Dawn's mother looked at the pictures she had taken with content and then smiled broadly at the girls. "You girls go and have fun! Call me later, okay, Dawn? Bye, have a great time!"

Dawn waved at her mom and then turned to her friends. "Now what? I remember a certain slice of pizza being mentioned…"

"Don't worry, you'll get your pizza, but let's do one last thing together with our idiotic classmates, okay?" Leaf proposed and pointed towards the crowd of seniors, who had gathered closely together and were about to throw their caps.

Before she could do anything to protest, Dawn was dragged into the crowd by her friends and laughed, deciding to just go with it. It was the last day she would see most of her classmates, anyway.

All seniors threw their caps up in the air in unison and erupted in joyful shouts and clapping as the funny looking blue hats flew higher and higher and then started falling back to the ground. Dawn joined in as well, laughing with her friends for a good few minutes, deciding some stupid old traditions weren't so bad after all.

But then came the awfully hard task of finding her cap in the sea of tens of others on the grass.

She scanned the ground, trying to see the cap that had a carefully sewn label saying _'Dawn Berlitz'_ while her friends went off trying to find their own.

'_Damn it, I should have looked where it fell…'_

Just as she was about to give up and just leave her cap behind, someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She turned around and was astonished to see Paul Shinji smiling at her. Paul Shinji, actually _smiling, _and not just at anyone, at _her!_

Dawn felt light-headed and it took her a few moments to realize that Paul was holding out something to her. '_My cap!'_

"T-thanks!" She stuttered as she took it shakily from him.

He said "Have a nice summer," and flashed her a mysterious smile, before turning around and walking off.

Dawn stared after him dazed for half a minute before she fully comprehended what he had said.

Have a nice summer?!

It sounded as if they would be returning for another year in high-school, but that was impossible. They had just graduated and only Arceus knew if they would see each other ever again!

But he sounded so sure that they indeed would see each other again, specifically after summer rolled around at that.

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Why had he cared to even pick her cap up and give it back to her? Something felt off, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it.

Shaking her head, the bluenette looked down at her cap and noticed something inside of it. It was a rolled up piece of paper, tied beautifully with a ribbon.

Dawn hesitantly untied it and opened the small note.

"_I do notice you.  
See you at the Prestige University of Hearthome."_

Dawn's jaw dropped and she nearly felt down.

What?! He was going to the same university as her! How did he even know she was going there?

'_I do notice you.'_

How had he found out it was her? What had he _noticed _that lead him to the conclusion it was her?

Dawn twirled the ribbon which the note had been tied with as she contemplated what had given her away. Unable to think properly, she just sighed in defeat and looked down to her hands.

Then it suddenly hit her.

The ribbon.

The ribbon, which the note had been tied with, was the exact same one she had worn in her hair at the party the previous night. It must have fallen off at her hasty escape from the soccer field and she hadn't even noticed it was gone. But apparently, Paul _had_ noticed.  
_  
_Although Dawn knew she had been busted, she couldn't stop the smile forming on her face. Life was full of surprises and she found herself looking forward to see what else it had in store for her once summer was over.

Dawn walked back to where her friends were, unable to stop smiling. The day of her graduation would be something worth remembering after all.

* * *

**_What in the world have I just written... :D I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. So, I wrote this as a one-shot, but it has some potential to become a multi-chapter story, I'm just not sure what to do with it yet. What do you think I should do? Would it be best if I left it like this? Or should I turn it into a multi-chapter story?_**

**_Leave your thoughts in the reviews, only if you'd like, of course. Thanks for reading and have a great day! :)_**

**_~UniqueElla_**


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